Upholstery Furniture

Upholstery has become known as one of the most intimate home furnishing products, largely because its overall appearance must ‘’fit’’ you, the way it feels, the way it looks amidst other home furnishings. It is important to remember that when buying furniture online it is impossible to see how the furniture looks as a part of a specific room or surrounding decor, this is when prior knowledge or experiences from buying similar products in this past come into play. Interestingly, very few consumers have any real knowledge about furniture as a product or its build up, most consumer knowledge about furniture is usually regarding the cost. Prior product knowledge helps you make good choices between competing brands and products, so that money may be saved and the best piece of furniture purchased. One word of warning on this, DO NOT BUY DISCOUNTS! As we buy discounted furniture from time to time, the only real knowledge we pick up is that the furniture is discounted and we learn nothing about the making of the furniture itself and how durable and well made it is, only that the furniture is discounted and the consumer purchasing does not know why. Knowing the piece is discounted is the least important factor in buying furniture, these discounts don’t mean anything unless thoroughly researched, knowledge of the upholstered furniture itself is far more viable.

Fabric selection is extremely important in buying the right upholstered furniture. The right fabric can help set the tone of a room and bring life to an area of a home, the wrong fabric can quite simply kill the mood of a room. One of the most common questions in considering which fabric to buy is ‘’how will it wear?’’ this is all dependent upon the way the fabric is woven, the colour of the fabric and how much use the fabric gets. The lifestyle of the individual or family who have the piece has a major effect on the wear of the fabric, a teenage household will not last nearly as long an older couples furniture, so do consider your lifestyle and take your time in doing so when picking out the correct fabric for you, this will save you time and money in the long run. As a side note, bear in mind that expensive furniture often does not mean better durability, in fact in 99% of instances the more expensive the fabric, the less time it will last. In many cases there is up to 50% waste of the material used to make the piece of furniture, believe it or not, this wasted fabric is added to the cost of the made piece when you buy it. The key point in choosing the right upholstered furniture is to always request a sample, this will not only allow you to see the colour and appearance of the fabric in relation to its proposed location, but give you an idea of the durability and wear of the piece you may be planning on buying. Always look for a sturdy kiln-dried hardwood frame that is glued screwed and corner-blocked with the foundation of an 8-way, hand-tied spring up system which will be construction attributes of better quality furniture. Lower-standard spring-up systems such as z-springs, drop-in 8-way systems and rubber web-based systems may also suit your needs.

Once you have purchased the upholstered furniture you have worked long and hard for, remember the most important thing now is to take good care of it. First, let’s go through each part of the new item you have bought. The frame is the foundation of any furniture piece and the basic element of it. A good frame will be kiln-dried hardwood as previously mentioned. Always look out for frames that are corner-blocked by either being screwed or glued, avoid if possible any other possible scenario of the making of the frame. All wood of the furniture should be free of knots and at least one inch in diameter. The base on a fine piece will have a series of woven straps in where each spring should be rested and clipped and then tied 8 ways to each other then onto the base rails. The standard cushion is usually made from polyurethane foam core wrapped with polyester fiberfill. The option will usually arise to choose between all down, or poly-down, or spring-down cushions. Pillows are very similar in being filled usually with polyester fiberfill. On higher cost products the option will usually arise to choose between down or a combination of down filling. These pillows give a softer feeling but are higher in cost. All higher quality upholstery has padding that covers the wooden part of the frame, it should in theory cover all of the underneath of the outer upholstery. These features all make up a solid, well-rounded piece of furniture.

So, you now have your new piece of the upholstered furniture, what to do first? I strongly advise the first thing to do is to treat the new piece with soil-repellent. This soil treatment product will save you money and time in the future, this will usually cost around $100 - $150 and is worth every cent you pay for it. A simple spray can be bought from the local hardware store, instead of this, buy the service and save money and ultimately your furniture for the future. Arm caps will also preserve the life of your arms, if you do not receive these when buying your furniture find other means of either making or buying these separately. Never try spot cleaning your upholstery, I can say both from experience and research spot-cleaning almost always results in making the previous stain worse by lightening the area around it which becomes extremely noticeable as a dirty spot, always get your furniture cleaned professional where possible. When buying upholstery furniture, the retailer in hand will be able to let you know of the cleaning code that is recommended for your item, this proves helpful in future cleaning of the piece. Here are the different cleaning codes and what they stand for:

‘’W’’ Remove soil with the foam of a water-based cleaning agent. Avoid using household solvents. Dry cleaning by professional service is only recommended. Remove dirt or dust by frequent vacuuming or light brushing.

‘’WS’’ Clean with shampoo, foam or dry cleaning solvents. Do not saturate with liquids, do not remove cushion covers and dry clean.

‘’S’’ Clean the fabric with pure solvents in a well-ventilated room. Avoid using water-based or detergent-based solvent cleaners. Vacuuming or light brushing is best to remove light grime, dirt or dust. Professional dry cleaning is only recommended.

‘’SW’’ Use water-based cleaning agent or pure solvent in a well-ventilated room. Professional dry cleaning only is recommended. Light brushing or vacuuming is best method for removing light grime, dirt or dust.

‘’X’’ Clean the fabric by vacuuming or light brushing. Water-based or solvent-based cleaning agents of any kind may cause fading or shrinking.

Glossary of Synthetic Fabrics

Acrylic: Acrilan, Cresian, Orlon and Zefran are trade names for this fiber, which is often used to produce wool-like fabrics. Acrylic cleans well and is becoming more prevalent within upholstery furniture.

Nylon: A.C.E, Antron and Cordura are trade names for this big name of the synthetics. Nylon can have a silky texture and is often joined with other fibers to create wonderful fabrics. It does have a tendency to fade in sunlight but it is widely used in carpeting.

Olefin: Herculon and Vectra are trade names of this widely used upholstery fiber. Though affordable and resistant from staining, it does not deal well under sunlight. Olefin is never used in formal settings – it is a more casual look, often woven into plaids. Olefin is an excellent choice when you are looking for cheaper, tougher fabric.

Polyester: Dacron, Fortrel, and Trevira are trade names for this powerhouse of the furniture industry. It is widely used for cushion fillings (a substitute for today’s down). It can have either a silk or wool-like hand.

Vinyl: Naugahyde is a trade name for this widely used fabric, which is used largely as a leather substitute. Vinyl is often seen by many as being ‘cheaper’ in appearance and has not had a very well esteemed image as of late. It offers a lower priced buy and looks fairly good. It is very affordable and is often used for the backs and arms of a piece.